Scenes From Sin City: Strategy is the name of the game for one bettor
As 1:30 p.m. approached on Friday afternoon, bettors began crowding the counter inside the Golden Nugget sportsbook, eagerly awaiting the official posting of lines on the college football Games of the Year. But not everybody was there to bet.
Some people were there to learn, perhaps to plot a little strategy for the 2015 season. One of those people was Fred, a longtime bettor who’s lived in Las Vegas since 1977 and has been to the Nugget for this grand annual event since it started in 2007.
“I want to see the opening numbers, because it’s the first site with numbers, other than a few offshore places,” said Fred, who asked not to have his last name used. “Then I’ll come back in maybe a week and see how the numbers have moved, see what bettors think of the numbers.”
But right at the top of the Golden Nugget’s paper packet of lines on the 166 games, one line caught Fred’s eye.
“I made Utah -7,” Fred said of the Utes’ season opener, at home against Michigan and new coach Jim Harbaugh. “They made Utah -4. If I ever saw a 3, I’d definitely jump on it. But I expect it to go up.”
A couple more strategies are also in play for Fred.
“When I bet underdogs, I bet half of my money on the first half. We don’t get first-half numbers yet,” he said. “And another thing is there is no money line yet. These are all things I look at. The Games of the Year kind of gets the ball rolling, gets you interested in college football.”
As 1:30 p.m. approached on Friday afternoon, bettors began crowding the counter inside the Golden Nugget sportsbook, eagerly awaiting the official posting of lines on the college football Games of the Year. But not everybody was there to bet.
Some people were there to learn, perhaps to plot a little strategy for the 2015 season. One of those people was Fred, a longtime bettor who’s lived in Las Vegas since 1977 and has been to the Nugget for this grand annual event since it started in 2007.
“I want to see the opening numbers, because it’s the first site with numbers, other than a few offshore places,” said Fred, who asked not to have his last name used. “Then I’ll come back in maybe a week and see how the numbers have moved, see what bettors think of the numbers.”
But right at the top of the Golden Nugget’s paper packet of lines on the 166 games, one line caught Fred’s eye.
“I made Utah -7,” Fred said of the Utes’ season opener, at home against Michigan and new coach Jim Harbaugh. “They made Utah -4. If I ever saw a 3, I’d definitely jump on it. But I expect it to go up.”
A couple more strategies are also in play for Fred.
“When I bet underdogs, I bet half of my money on the first half. We don’t get first-half numbers yet,” he said. “And another thing is there is no money line yet. These are all things I look at. The Games of the Year kind of gets the ball rolling, gets you interested in college football.”
